Can the power of the cult power the biggest Kickstarter film ever? The crew behind Veronica Mars is about to find out.

Show creator Rob Thomas launched a bid on the online fundraising site Kickstarter on Wednesday to fund a movie version of the fan favourite. By 2.45pm ET, – just a few hours old and with 30 days still to go – it had made more than $960,000 dollars of the immense $2m (£1.3m) goal.

Thomas wrote on the Kickstarter page that he and Kristen Bell – the show's eponymous student private investigator – have always wanted to make the movie since the series' cancellation in 2007 after three seasons.

He said he had developed a film pitch a few years ago, which was then rejected by Warner Bros, which still owns the rights Veronica Mars. After learning about Kickstarter from his musician friend Robert Harrison, he crunched the numbers and decided the site was a viable way to fund the movie. He and Bell asked and received a go-ahead from WB.

"So this is it. This is our shot. I believe it's the only one we've got. It's nerve-wracking. I suppose we could fail in spectacular fashion, but there's also the chance that we completely revolutionize how projects like ours can get made," Thomas said

The production details are up in the air, so far, as the group is reliant on the funding. In a video promoting the fundraising drive, Thomas, Bell and a collection of other cast members surprise Bell in her house to discuss the movie.

Her television dad, Enrico Colantoni, stirs coffee into a VM3 mug, lost in character and continuing to console her in traditional papa Mars fashion. Jason Dohring, who played love interest Logan, can't stop looking at Bell with his smoldering gaze and referencing past plot points before being spoon-fed cereal by Ryan Hansen, who played Dick Casablancas.

They then turn to the camera to ask the fans directly for money, encouraging people to keep donating if the $2m threshold is passed to help supply the film's "car chase and nudity fund".

Like all Kickstarter projects, backers will receive swag relative to the size of their donation. Those who pledge $10 will get a PDF of the script on the day of the film's release; the individual who has already pledged more than $10,000 will get a speaking role in the movie, as a waiter.

In between, there are more typical merchandise items such as T-shirts, posters and copies of the film. Over $200, donors will receive autographs, personalized voicemails from cast members or a year of Twitter follows from Thomas and Bell. The option to name a character is also available.

The plan to resurrect the series on Kickstarter has apparently been in the works for more than a year. The cast told Entertainment Weekly that the Kickstarter video was shot in February 2012